Signing up on sites like Shankar Mahadevan Academy, Pratibha Music Academy, and Vidya Subramanium Online, tutors can now earn between $20 and $40 (Rs1,2002,500) a hour.

Now compare this to what an average IT worker earns - Rs 386.8 an hour or $6.05, according to Monster India Salary Index in July 2017.

Prasad Sri, a Chennai-based freelance teacher and voice trainer, says his students are more likely to find him on Facebook and WhatsApp these days. Most of Sri's 80 students are in the US and he doesn't take offline classes. "I even have students in Chennai approaching me for online classes," says Sri.

It's not surprising since the money is much better online. On average, offline classes work out to Rs 2,000 a month for individuals, says Mahalakshmi Ravi, a 50-year-old Chennai resident who decided to take up music late in life.

The online hourly rate if you want to learn music from, say, an Airtel Super Singer star (a popular music show in the south) or from a regular at Narada Gana Sabha, would be as much as $40 (Rs 2,500). With the average student requiring four to eight hours of classes every month, online tutors earn Rs 5,200 to Rs 10,000 per student. With just 10 students, one's earnings can cross Rs 1 lakh a month.

There are other advantages too. The difference in time zones allows music teachers to do their regular jobs and pack in lessons in their free time. "I find it very convenient to teach students in the US, given that I am free only at night. For children and teenagers, learning music between 5 am and 7 am improves their memory and concentration," says Anand Emmanuel John, a piano teacher based in Chennai, who graduated from Trinity College, London.

One-on-one personalised tutoring online also gives teachers a better chance of spotting talent. Earlier, John used to teach a group of 12 to 20 students. Now he teaches only four really promising children offline and about 10 students online and charges by the hour - six hours every night on weekdays and Saturdays.

As for students, it has democratized music lessons. No longer are they limited to Getty Images the neighbourhood guru; they can log on for lessons from world-class teachers anywhere in the country or across continents.Parents too are saved the hassle of dropping and picking up children from classes.

But Mumbai-based Vidya Harikrishnan, who teaches students in Singapore on Skype, adds a word of caution. Online classes, she feels, work better for those who have "an understanding with the guru or have mastered the basics of talam (rhythm)".While the quality of classes is much better with faster internet, beginners find it a little difficult, she says.

With the growing interest, online academies focus on more genres and different age groups. Pratibha Sarathy, founder of Pratibha Music eCademy, has more than 25 freelance music trainers.

Apart from packages for those wanting to learn Carnatic, Hindustani or Western music, she has introduced a light music course for film song buffs and a tiny tots programme for toddlers. "We need to offer a good mix of genres. Most singers have multiple interests, so as aneCademy, we should be equipped to handle a variety of musical formats," says Sarathy